Veteran Paul Pierce Likely To Be Released By Boston Celtics

Over the past few years, the writing has been on the wall in Beantown with the Boston Celtics destined to rebuild at some point with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce nearing the end of their Hall of Fame-caliber careers in the NBA. Garnett signed a three-year contract extension last summer and apparently has no intention of calling it career no matter what the circumstances are in Boston, but the same can’t be said for Pierce.

Pierce has played his entire 15-year career with the Celtics since being drafted out of Kansas in the 1998 NFL Draft with the 10th overall pick. Although Pierce was considered a good player coming out of Kansas, there was no telling he’d be as good as he turned out to be on one of the most storied franchises in professional sports in the United States.

Despite only winning one NBA title during his time in Boston, Pierce’s career with the Celtics has been considered a resounding success. Pierce will definitely have his jersey retired and be considered one of the best players in franchise history, but he may not be able to finished career in Boston unless he decides to retire before the end of next month.

Pierce is set to make $15 million next season with the Celtics. The superstar forward can be bought out by the Celtics for $5 million before the deadline on June 30 and it appears the team is leaning toward going that route with the team’s best player.

There’s no question the Celtic aren’t the same team they were during their championship season and will likely not be favored to do much of anything in Las Vegas odds next season, but Pierce will have an opportunity to go elsewhere and potentially win one more ring before calling it a career in the NBA.